Tag Archives: Dylan

Dylan tried but it was too late…

4 June 2026

What a terrible morning. John Williams and the Forestry England team went with the cherry picker to help the little osplets on the Llyn Clywedog nest but when they got there at first light, it was too late.

Dylan had come in with a fish and tried to feed his babies. Only C1 was responsive.

There is no sign of Seren Blue 5F, Dylan’s mate and the chick’s Mum. She flew off the nest suddenly and did not return. She appeared to hear or see something that caused her to leave. Seren was a loving and caring Mum who always had her spot in The Gambia in the winter.

Soar high, Seren and babies.

An osprey chick is resting in its nest made of twigs and branches, surrounded by a lush green landscape with trees and hills in the background.

Dismayed Dylan. He has lost his entire family.

An osprey sitting in its nest, holding a fish, surrounded by sticks and greenery.

Message from John Williams who has loved and looked after this family beyond his role with Forestry England.

Message from John this morning :

“Its with great sadness that I write this. Sadly the chick’s had already passed when we recovered them this morning, I know people may of been asking why we couldn’t do something sooner, and I wish that it was that easy. You have to weigh up all the outcomes with any decision of intervention you take. Knowing that what ever you do could end the same way with them passing away.

Interventions have been done before, like at the Dyfi but they did have the benefit of both parent birds being there, so that any surviving chick could be returned. We don’t know what has happened to 5F I looked for her but its like looking for a needle in a hay stack, thanks to the Clywedog fishermen for also searching the lakeside too.

It was late last night when it started, at first you have to hope that 5F would come back. As there is no reason for her not to unless she came into harms way, and there would of been no way to know this. Then there is the question how would I get to the nest, id need to hire a cherry picker, after 10pm that wasn’t going to happen, and also id need a skilled operator to come at short notice, out of hours. Then there was the issue of the weather with gusts of over 40mph. You cannot use a cherry picker with winds that strong, and the tree itself isnt safe to climb in the daylight let alone the total darkness.

Best thing I could do was mobilize guys first thing in the morning whilst also seeking advice from experts. No one can doubt my commitment to these birds, I’ve dedicated so much of my life and time to them, here put lots of things on the line for them. It is heartbreaking for me and I know it is for many of you too. 5F is a much loved osprey by us all, I’ve got my fingers crossed that she is safe and well somewhere.

Im not the best with words, but I hope I’ve demonstrated to you all that we couldn’t of done much more than we have already for them, as hard as I know it is. Its been a very stressfull time for me, and im really sorry”

Is a tragedy unfolding at Llyn Clywedog? Late Wednesday in Bird World

3 June 2026

Good Evening Everyone,

Dylan and Seren Blue 5F are the adult ospreys at the Llyn Clywedog nest in the Hafren Forest in Wales. They have successfully raised chicks together for years. They have had troubles with a goshawk in the past that took one of their chicks.

This season the pair had all three of their eggs hatch.

The weather earlier today had been rainy.

A bird of prey sitting on a nest surrounded by twigs and branches, with green rolling hills and trees in the background.
A mother bird sitting on a nest with her chick, surrounded by a natural landscape of greenery.

Fish on the nest above. At times during the afternoon, I thought Seren appeared to be distracted.

An eagle resting in its nest made of twigs and branches, surrounded by a green landscape with trees in the background.
An osprey standing over a nest with three chicks surrounded by twigs and branches, set against a backdrop of green fields and trees.

Seren flies off the nest leaving her babies at 20:58:44.

A close-up view of an osprey nest made of branches and twigs, with young ospreys lying inside. The background features a blurred landscape of trees and grassy hills.

She has not returned.

A close-up view of an osprey nest made of twigs and branches, with visible chicks resting inside.

Dylan came to the nest about an hour after Seren flew off. He has not brooded the chicks. They were chirping and huddling together.

I have a really bad feeling about this. Seren is too good a mother to leave her chicks for this long unless she is injured or dead. My heart is aching for those little babies who want the warmth of their Mum.

It has been a really rough week in Bird World. We lost Rosie and Richmond’s only osplet, Scout died, Snow was taken into care, and we count every fish that goes to Little Dewey at Dewey Beach. Storks in part of Europe are hungry. They need rain along with frogs and little fish. This year promised to be challenging and it is turning out to be more than anticipated.

Please send your wishes to the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren that Mum will return, and the babies will not succumb to hypothermia.

Remember to be grateful for all the little souls in other nests that are fine – anything can happen. Keep them safe!

I am taking the day off tomorrow. June 4 is our late son’s birthday and we always celebrate by eating New York cheesecake, his favourite. It will also give me a chance to take a deep breath after all these tragedies. Take care everyone. We will see you again on Friday.

Thank you to CarnyX Wild for their streaming cam to the Llyn Clywedog nest where I took my screen captures.

Sadness on Channel Islands Bald Eagle nest and other news from Bird World

There is sad news coming out of the Channel Islands Bald Eagle community. The male eagle, A64, Spirit, devoted mate to Cruz, was found floating in the ocean near Fraser Point on 21 July. The report stated that there appeared to be no traumatic injuries. Spirit’s mate, Cruz, has been seen at their nest. Condolences to all.

Deb Stecyk made a great video of this wonderful couple in 2018. Here it is:

The gusts have really been whipping the Fortis Alberta Exshaw Nest around this afternoon. For awhile it looked like the two chicks might get blown off. Mum was food calling and looking in the sky and you sure had a lot of sympathy for dad trying to fish and feed his family this afternoon. The weather station reports that the winds are blowing at 21 km/h. The gusts appear to be more than that. Hang on everyone!

Of course, you can’t even tell there is a breeze in a still photo!

The chicks are doing well on this nest. There seem to be no worries.

The wind was not blowing at the Fortis Alberta Red Deer Osprey Nest. Just look at how big and pretty Only Bob is getting! It really does help to be an only chick.

As the day heats up, Mum is making sure that this little one is good and shaded from the pounding heat of the sun.

The Only surviving Bob at the Collins Marsh Nest had a nice crop this morning. It is really, really hot on the top of that old wildfire tower. Both Mum and chick are really panting.

It was really nice to see a nice big crop on this little one today especially with the heat.

Tiny Little had breakfast and had an evening meal. Mom flew in to help but looks like Tiny Little did a pretty good job cleaning up. Our little one decided to sleep duckling style on the nest tonight. I like to think that all those lines are golden rays shining down and protecting this wee babe.

Other news coming out of Welsh Osprey nests is from Llyn Clywedog, the nest of Dylan and Seren. Only Bob, Blue 496, today flew from the nest with a good sized fish attached to its talons to eat it elsewhere. It is not clear if this is a first for Only Bob but it sure could be. Well done! Another milestone.

This is so fantastic. Dylan and Seren can be very proud of their 2021 fledgling Blue 396. He is doing so well in all aspects – flying, self-feeding, and now flying with a fish in talon. All good prep for migration.

As you probably know, the mothers leave before the fledglings and dad. They normally take off for Africa (or Spain or Portugal) two weeks before everyone else. Seren has been photographed in The Gambia. Dad will stay behind and feed the fledglings. When they take off and are all on their way it is only then that the male will leave. Everyone knows what a treacherous undertaking migration is. This year only 80% of the Ospreys expected to return did so in the UK (according to Tiger Mozone’s data). That is low. Normally it is 90%. We will begin to look for their return the third week in March. Normally Blue 33 and Maya are one of the first couples to get back to their nests. I can’t wait. There is something adorable about these little fuzzy bobble heads turning into reptiles and then getting their juvenile plumage that warms your soul.

My last report comes from Dr Ericke Green at the Montana Osprey Project. Him and his team have now visited 200 Osprey nests along the Clark Fork River. They note that the water in places is less than half the normal amount. The heat has persisted for more than a month, the water is hot, and the fish are dying. This is bad news for the Ospreys. Green noted that the chicks that they ringed were in good shape, regardless. He said that when they were on the Flathead Indian Reserve north of Missoula they found some nice healthy chicks living in nests lined with Bison hair! The nest is close to the Bison Wildlife Refuge. Wouldn’t that be soft and cosy?

Do any of you know what has happened in the Barlinecka Forest’s Osprey Nest in Poland? I have written to the Polish Committee for the Protection of Eagles that ran the camera. It has gone off line. There were two chicks on the nest – chick 1 hatched on 25 May and chick 4 hatched 31 May. Eggs 2 and 3 did not hatch. That is a massive difference in age! If you know anything about the status of these birds please let me know. I haven’t had a response yet from Poland. I will share it if I hear.

I want to thank all of you for joining me today. It is always a pleasure to have you with me. It was helpful to hear Dr Green say that this year’s osprey chicks in Montana have done well despite the drought that is encompassing so much of that area and ours in Canada. Take care everyone. Tomorrow loads of images of Big Red and the Ks.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: CarnyX Wild and the Llyn Clywedog Osprey Nest, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, the Collins Marsh Osprey Nest, Fortis Albert Exshaw Osprey Nest, and the Fortis Alberta Red Deer Osprey Nest. I also want to thank the Montana Ospreys at Hellgate FB Page where I grabbed the image of the Osprey chicks in the nest lined with Bison hair. They hold the copyright.